How Pakistan Interior Minister Helped US Embassy Import Illegal Weapons Without Telling ISI

EXCLUSIVE DOCUMENTS REVEALED

On US Ambassador Anne W. Patterson's personal request, Interior Minister Rehman Malik kept Pakistan's security agencies in the dark and helped the US embassy in Islamabad create and equip private American-run militias with sophisticated weapons that are prohibited in the country outside military use.  A trail of paperwork, reproduced here with this report, reveals how Mr. Malik's ministry is hand in glove with the US Embassy in secretly importing illegal weapons without following proper procedure.  Another sign of the untold agenda that Washington is pursuing in Pakistan to the detriment of Pakistani interest.

By Ansar Abbasi

Friday, 9 October 2009.

WWW.AHMEDQURAISHI.COM

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan�The role of the Pakistani federal Interior Ministry in the issuance of prohibited bore licenses to US defense contractor DynCorp's local partner Inter-Risk appears to be dubious.  The US embassy admitted to have imported the prohibited bore weapons but other evidence shows something different.

Evidence�available with The News contradicts the US embassy�s viewpoint and shows that a resident of Daryoba Agency FR Bannu had gifted 50 weapons that were reportedly given to Inter-Risk.

Documents also show that after US Ambassador Anne Patterson�s letter to Interior Minister Rehman Malik for the issuance of prohibited bore licenses to Inter-Risk, the US embassy continued to influence the Interior Ministry that issued the required licenses to the US-blessed Pakistani security agency without consulting intelligence agencies and the Foreign Office. 

US Ambassador wrote this letter to Mr. Malik on March 30, 2009, to approve the operations of Dyncorp International in the entire territorial limits of Pakistan, without any conditions, in addition to allowing the company and its local affiliate to import banned weapons.  Mr. Malik apparently approved the request without asking questions and without assessing what private US military contractors will be doing in Pakistan.

Following Patterson�s letter, US embassy officials met State Minister for Interior Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi and later formally wrote to him, setting clear deadlines for the issuance of licenses in three phases. The documentary evidence shows that the state minister acted accordingly as per the wishes of the US embassy.

Gerald M Feierstein, Charge d� Affaires ad interim US embassy in Islamabad, wrote to Tasneem Ahmed Qureshi on May 7: �I would like to thank you for meeting with my representative Michael Eicher on May 7 to discuss certain security matters that affect the US Embassy. As Mr Eicher conveyed, the United States and Pakistan share a deep commitment to improving the lives and future of the Pakistani people. However, security concerns have greatly diminished out ability to administer and expand the programmes we would like to support in partnership with the government of Pakistan.

�I order for the Embassy to mitigate the risk associated with some of these security concerns, the US Embassy has engaged with Inter-Risk (Pvt) Ltd to provide armed guards to protect our US diplomatic personnel assigned to Islamabad and Peshawar. Therefore, I would like to request the issuance of 134 prohibited bore (pb) licenses on behalf to Inter-Risk (Pvt) Ltd to accomplish this security goal.

�50 pb licenses are needed as quickly as possible and an additional 50 pb licenses will be needed in June 2009. The remaining 34 licenses will be needed in July 2009.

�I would like to thank you for your personal attention to this matter offer the renewed assurances of my highest considerations.�

Within a week time following this letter, the personal secretary (PS) to the state minister for interior writes a �Top Priority� directive on minister�s behalf, ordering the section officer (PB) Ministry of Interior: �The minister of state for interior has been pleased to approve fifty (50) PB arms license in favour of M/S Inter-Risk (Private) Limited.

�2. Arm Section may issue the licenses under intimation to this office by 20-5-2009.�

While the state minister issued strict direction for the issuance of 50 pb licenses to Inter-Risk by May 20, 2009, the deputy commissioner Islamabad received an official communication from office of the district coordination officer/political agent FR Bannu the same day.

The letter�s subject was �Confirmation/Verification of Weapon Gift� and it read as: �The enclosed certificates (consisting 50 no) for gift of weapon, gifted by Malik Khanzada Khan Wazir Daryoba Agency FR Banny dully verified by the undersigned for further necessary action.�

Official sources said that these apparently gifted weapons were provided to Inter-Risk, however, actually the said weapons belonged to the Americans. Why the DCO Bannu did this and on whose order could not be ascertained as despite repeated efforts and telephone calls, the officer did not talk to this correspondent. His staff said that the DCO was sitting in the office but the officer did not even bother to return the call.

Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Amir Ahmad Ali, when contacted, said that he took over as DC Islamabad in June so he did not know as to what was the secret behind the DCO Bannu�s letter. The then DC Islamabad Asadullah Faiz, when contacted, said that he did not remember the case and its details.

US embassy spokesman Richard Snelisry, when approached by this correspondent, admitted for the first time that it had imported prohibited bore weapons for Inter-Risk against the licenses given by the Interior Ministry. He said that it was part of the contract signed between the embassy and Inter-risk. When his attention was drawn to the DCO Bannu letter, he said that he did not know anything about it but insisted that everything on behalf of the US embassy was transparent and within the limits of Pakistan�s laws. He said that it was possible that the Inter-Risk had obtained the gifted weapons for something that had nothing to do with the US embassy. He said that the US embassy was not responsible for everything that the Inter-Risk has done or is doing.

The embassy spokesman Richard Snelsire, commonly known as Rick, said that he had no knowledge of any letter written by any embassy official to the Interior Ministry's state minister and giving deadlines for the issuance of licenses to Inter-Risk following the letter of Anne Patterson.

A junior US diplomat in Islamabad, Gerald Feierstein, writes a letter asking for several licenses for illegal weapons that embassies are not supposed to have.  The Pakistani Minister, Tasnim Qureshi, obliges in less than five days.  That's a record short time for something as serious as this.

State Minister Qureshi, when approached, confirmed that he did receive a letter from Gerald M Feierstein but denied that it was part of US embassy�s influence on him to proceed accordingly. Qureshi said that he issued the licenses without referring the matter to the Foreign Office or the security agencies, as it was a routine affair. He said Inter-Risk was a registered security agency and the US embassy wanted prohibited bore licenses to beef up security of its personnel and interests.

The state minister, however, said that he was never informed about the fact that Inter-Risk was a local partner of the American security company DynCorp. He said that he also did not know about the �fishy� affairs connected with Inter-Risk. However, the fact remains that the relationship between DynCorp and Inter-Risk was clearly mentioned by the US ambassador in her letter addressed to Interior Minister Rehman Malik and dated March 30, 2009.

In her two-page letter, Patterson shared her security concerns with Rehman Malik, particularly about the US Consulate in Peshawar. She had referred to the common objectives and shared visions between the two countries for the Frontier province and the tribal areas of Pakistan. She wrote: �Recognizing that the responsibility of your Ministry and provincial law enforcement is not limited to the Consulate but remains confronting the miscreant elements directly and everywhere, the US government has entered into a commercial contract with DynCorp International and their Pakistani subcontractors Inter-Risk (Pvt) Ltd, and Speed Flo Filter Industries to provide specialized security support for our consulate in Peshawar.

�I feel this contractual arrangement will allow your security forces to focus on their priorities and at the same time allow us the ability to continue consulate operations with an appropriate level of security support.  Our security plan will incorporate both the commercial security personnel and the NWFP police contingent already dedicated to supporting the consulate.

�To accomplish the goals of our commercial contract, I am requesting your approval for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for Dyncorp International, Inter-Risk (Pvt) Ltd, and Speed Flo Filter Industries to provide security services for the US government.  More urgently, we request your intervention to facilitate granting Inter-Risk (Pvt) the requisite prohibited bore arms licenses to operate in the territorial limits of Pakistan and as soon as possible.�

This report was published by The News International on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2009.  Mr. Abbasi broke the story on DynCorp and Inter-Risk.  His work, and that of The Nation led to the arrest of the owners of Inter-Risk and the clampdown on the suspicious activities of DynCorp in Pakistan.